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Surgery 4/7/15 At 7 weeks and doing great

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 5/26/2015 10:55 AM (GMT 0)
I had a large hiatal hernia as well as a twisted stomach . Am 75 years of age and seem to be doing great at 7 weeks. Even had steak the other nigh. Cut into small pieces and made sure to chew real well. Also tried to slow down which is hard for me. Husband keeps reminding me to "Slow Down. No problem there. When can we start on salads? I need the roughage. Only problem I seem to have to constipation. Cant eat anything with real fiber. Vegetables have to be from can (also fruit) as fresh fruits and vegetables are too hard to eat. Ate some watermelon which at first was fine but if not chewed well gets stuck in throat. So far so good. When I read some of these postings I know I am doing great. So glad I did NF surgery.
Posted 5/26/2015 5:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Teapot - Glad to hear you are doing well. Our hernias sound similar. Didn't that steak taste fabulous!? Good to eat slowly and just little bites. I had quite a bit of trouble swallowing things in the early days. Hope you don't get hiccups, etc.

Keep us posted!

Fresh Greens
Posted 5/26/2015 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Teapot!
I think constipation is a problem a few people get after this operation. I started taking digestive enzymes and pro-biotic yogurt drinks - after a week of taking them, they got me back on track. This was about 3 weeks ago, and I've kept taking them as I feel much better, and I've not been constipated since! I'm 12 weeks post-op now.
I think that a few years of acid reducing tablets change the bacteria in your gut - so that's why I am giving mine a good dose of healthy bacteria now!
Glad you are getting better! :-)
Posted 5/27/2015 6:14 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks. No hiccups. Had some shrimp and made sure to cut it up into small pieces. Which probiotic drinks are they? That sounds good to me.
Posted 5/27/2015 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
That's great to hear that you are doing well. Wishing you a continuing good and speedy recovery.
Posted 5/28/2015 1:47 AM (GMT 0)
Congrats on doing so well!
Posted 6/1/2015 1:58 PM (GMT 0)
teapot01, congrats, too on your progress! For 75 years of age, I'm really impressed! I'm 68 and scheduled for LNF on June 23rd. I was worried that at my age, I might have a much longer recovery, but now I'm thinking it might be just fine after reading your success at this point.

Regarding fresh veggies for the fiber, I think we can have those fresh veggies if they are pulverized in a NutriBullet or other high-speed blender. I put a handful of spinach, a carrot, kiwi, pineapple and frozen, ripe bananas (or other fruits), plus some sunflower seeds or other nuts and it makes a wonderful, nutritious and filling shake with NO chunks whatsoever. This, I believe, will be a great method to get that all important fiber and nutrients early on after surgery. I also use a 'juicer' that makes a wonderful green juice without the fiber. It's highly concentrated nutrition made using spinach, celery, carrots, apple, ginger root, and pineapple. Tastes wonderful and is full of nutrition.

Hope this is helpful and keep up the good work!
Posted 6/1/2015 6:28 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, my! Linda Sue, you ARE brave! Good luck with all that raw stuff after surgery, even tho' it is pulverised!
Posted 6/1/2015 7:28 PM (GMT 0)
fresh greens,
So, not such a good idea? That's what I'm wondering. I've NOT had my surgery yet.

These are the kind of smoothies and juices I have been making over the past couple of years. I figured that if fresh veggies/fruits were in 'juice' and/or 'smoothie' form, there would be no issues .. liquid is liquid. If that is not the case, I sure want to know so I will stay away from them for awhile after surgery.
Posted 6/1/2015 7:43 PM (GMT 0)
Linda Sue:

This is the diet that my surgeon gave me to follow.

[url]http://www.upmc.com/patients-visitors/education/nutrition/pages/diet-after-nissen-fundoplication-surgery.aspx[url]

Sharon
Posted 6/2/2015 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Sharon .. you put this up somewhere else and I printed it out.

The only thing NOT addressed is homemade juices & smoothies. I know not to eat raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, and the foods to avoid make perfect sense. I just need to know what I CAN use for smoothies and juices for proper nutrition somewhere about the 2nd or 3rd week after surgery. I do plan to purchase protein/nutritional shakes at Costco and will have plenty of the 'clear' broths & juices on hand.
Posted 6/2/2015 8:01 PM (GMT 0)
Linda Sue:

I avoided all vegetables in the beginning (gas issues). I made my own fruit smoothies and added a vanilla protein powder (bananas worked the best). I found that the Ensure-type drinks didn't want to stay with me for very long. Honestly, I didn't have much of an appetite the first couple of weeks and I ate a lot of popsicles and italian ices. I liked cream of wheat and scrambled eggs in the beginning as well as jello. Honestly, a lot of it is trial and error and what works for some doesn't work for others. Why don't you call your surgeon's office and ask about juicing? I was able to e-mail questions to his staff and get almost an immediate response. They were very helpful when I encountered "dumping syndrome".

You only have a few more weeks to go - how exciting! Everyone asked me if I was nervous prior to surgery and I can honestly tell you that I wasn't. I had no anxiety or fear, it was a risk that I was willing to take to get some sort of relief. Don't expect too much too soon, I'm a year post surgery and I'm finally feeling back to normal.

Good Luck,

Sharon
Posted 6/2/2015 8:05 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Linda Sue,
Just been reading about your smoothies - you will have to avoid anything that will have small seeds, such as strawberries, kiwi fruit, raspberries, tomatoes. You should be ok with blueberries and apples, avocado (I used these a lot!) fully ripe bananas. I was told to steer clear of pineapple as they can be quite stringy, even when liquidised, as can citrus fruits - you could have them if you just used squeezed/strained juices. You will still have to avoid acidic foods for a few weeks - I started having tomato soup about week 6. I ate a lot more potato when I was recovering!
Posted 6/4/2015 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Sharon and Sweetie UK - I will be careful with the smoothies.

I was informed today that my surgeon must be out of town so my surgery has been moved BACK to June 30th from the 23rd!!!!!

Very disappointing, and they were apologetic but that's one more week of misery for ME! I know you will sympathize with me .... sad
Posted 6/4/2015 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Linda Sue,
Not good - I was told of my date change just 4 days before my surgery - and then they only moved it 2 days - and I was so upset! I know exactly how you feel right now. You have come this far now - it's another 7 days, feels like a year when you want things done - but it will pass. I am thinking of you!
Posted 6/5/2015 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, Linda Sue! I so feel for you to have your surgery date pushed back. That happened to me also and it was a huge disappointment. One week can be a very long time, especially when you've already waited so long.
My go-to foods were cream of wheat in the morning, mashed potatoes at night, just plain apple juice and jello. I drank a protein shake every other day and after about ten days I had a scrambled egg and thought it the most delicious thing I ever ate. I also drank broth at first but moved to creamy soup, including tomato, with no gas problems. The first week I didn't feel hungry at all and, sort of like a newborn, I'd eat a few ounces of something and it would put me right to sleep for a few hours. I'd wake up just in time for another feeding! You'll be surprised how quickly you bounce back from this.
Peg
Posted 6/5/2015 11:35 PM (GMT 0)
I am having my surgery on June 11th and am completely terrified. I am hoping that it will all be complete with out any complications and no reason to open me up. I have a Hiatial hernia and severe gerd which makes me gasp alot. Also, how bad is the pain and how hard is it to get moving again. What is the averge time you had to take from work? I will be doing the most of my recovery alone as I do not have a strong support system. Any advise?
Posted 6/11/2015 4:20 PM (GMT 0)
SMOG1985,

Good luck on your surgery today! I just had mine on Monday, June 8th. So we will be recovering at about the same time!

Gina
Posted 6/12/2015 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Teapot - How are things going for you now? You are about 9 weeks out from surgery?

How is your energy throughout the day? This has been a stumbling block for me....

Sleeping ok? Eating issues?

Fresh Greens
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